Interactive badge

ABSTRACT

The subject disclosure is directed towards a wearable interactive device, such as a wearable identity badge. When a user moves the device, such as to position a display (e.g., part) of the device a sensed distance at a sensed horizontal and vertical angle, the device outputs content that is based on the position. Context data also may be used in determining the content to output, as well as any other sensed data that may be available.

BACKGROUND

People want quick, convenient and mobile access to their digitalinformation. A typical example is when a person dealing with an upcomingmeeting wants to view calendar data including the meeting time andlocation. Similar access to other information, such as email, socialnetworking, and online services such as search, mapping, weatherforecasting and traffic updates is also desirable to many users.

Contemporary mobile devices provide such information, but notnecessarily quickly or conveniently. For example, a smartphone hascertain limitations from an interaction point of view, as smartphone isvery often carried in a pocket or bag, and therefore needs to be removed(and typically switched on and/or unlocked) before it can be used forfurther interaction. A laptop or tablet computing device computersimilarly needs to be activated. Not only can this be inconvenient andawkward at times, but there are also other times when it is socially orprofessionally unacceptable do so, and/or undesirable to call attentionto oneself while doing so.

SUMMARY

This Summary is provided to introduce a selection of representativeconcepts in a simplified form that are further described below in theDetailed Description. This Summary is not intended to identify keyfeatures or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is itintended to be used in any way that would limit the scope of the claimedsubject matter.

Briefly, various aspects of the subject matter described herein aredirected towards a technology in which the position of a wearableinteractive device relative to a wearer of the device is sensed as (atleast part of) interaction with the device. Described is renderingoutput via the wearable interactive device based upon the interactionwith the device, including determining the output that is rendered basedat least in part upon the position data.

In one aspect, a wearable interactive device is described that includesan output mechanism configured to render output content. The outputcontent is rendered based at least in part upon interaction thatpositions the wearable interactive device at a position relative to awearer of the interactive wearable device. At least part of the wearableinteractive device may comprise an identity badge.

In one aspect, there is described obtaining context data and sensingposition data of a wearable interactive badge relative to a wearer,including sensing distance data and angular data. Content is determinedcontent based upon the position data and the context data, and thecontent is rendered via the wearable interactive badge.

Other advantages may become apparent from the following detaileddescription when taken in conjunction with the drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention is illustrated by way of example and not limitedin the accompanying figures in which like reference numerals indicatesimilar elements and in which:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing various example components of agenerally standalone wearable interactive device such as an interactivebadge that may be used to provide relevant output, according to oneexample embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing various example components of awearable interactive device such as an interactive badge along with acoupled companion device, which may be used to provide relevant output,according to one example embodiment.

FIGS. 3A and 3B are block diagram showing various example sensors thatmay be used to provide input relevant to a wearable interactive device,according to one example embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a representation of an example wearable interactive devicesuch as an interactive badge comprising a display part and a belt clippart, including sensing component, according to one example embodiment.

FIGS. 5A and 5B are representations of an example wearable interactivedevice such as an interactive badge in example positioning-based usagescenarios, according to one example embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram showing example steps taken to process inputdata, including positioning data of a wearable interactive device, intorelevant output, according to one example embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram representing an example computing environmentinto which aspects of the subject matter described herein may beincorporated.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Various aspects of the technology described herein are generallydirected towards a wearable (including worn, held or otherwise carried)interactive computing device, which may be implemented in the form of aninteractive badge, such as an identity badge. The badge incorporates adisplay screen such as an embedded LCD or bi-stable display that isconfigured to present dynamic information to the wearer.

The interactive device/badge may be manipulated to change its positionrelative to the wearer, and this positioning comprises (at least partof) the interaction with the device; for example the position may beused as input data to determine what output such as content/piece oflarger content to render on the display screen. As will be understood,the interactive badge provides an easy to use and readily availableinteractive device that complements other established computing devices,both mobile and generally stationary devices.

Note that as described herein, the term “badge” is often used todescribe the interactive device because of the proliferation of suchbadges in enterprises and the ability to use the interactive device assuch a badge. However, the interactive device described herein need notbe used as a badge in the conventional sense. For example, a user in ahome office may want the benefits provided by such a device, e.g.,at-a-glance information that is based on positioning of the device,without the inconvenience of unlocking, even though such a user has noneed for an identification badge at home. Still further, theposition-based interactive “badge” may be implemented in other wearableforms, such as eyewear, jewelry, wristwatch-type devices, athletic wear(e.g., a wristband) and so on. Thus, the term “badge” is only usedherein with respect to examples of one usage model/scenario, and anyusage of the term “badge” herein should not be used to limit theinteractive device to such a usage model (except where explicitlyreferred to as such).

As also will be understood, the wearable computing device can operate asa standalone device or as an accessory to a companion device (e.g. asmartphone, laptop, tablet and/or personal computer). In anyconfiguration, the wearable computing device can provide variousinformation to users (e.g., via various applications). In general, theinformation is provided in a quick and convenient way, includingat-a-glance (“glanceable”) information.

It should be understood that any of the examples herein arenon-limiting. For instance, one interactive badge embodiment isexemplified herein as being incorporated into a traditional enterprise(e.g., corporate or educational institution) identification (ID) badge,but such a device may be worn or carried for any reason, including as acredit or debit card, and thus “badge” is not limited to conventionalbadge concepts. Further, one example implementation is in the form of awearable interactive badge that comprises a standalone computing device,however such a device may instead comprise a thin client thatcommunicates with another device, such as a smartphone, to use at leastsome of the other device's computational power and/or data communicationcapabilities. As such, the present invention is not limited to anyparticular embodiments, aspects, concepts, structures, functionalitiesor examples described herein. Rather, any of the embodiments, aspects,concepts, structures, functionalities or examples described herein arenon-limiting, and the present invention may be used in various ways thatprovide benefits and advantages in computing and information technologyin general.

FIG. 1 shows a block diagram in which a wearable, interactive computingdevice 102 such as an interactive identification badge includes adisplay (block 104) that outputs various (e.g., relevant) content asrendered by control logic 106. For example, the display may comprise abi-stable display that is always on and only uses power to update theoutput. A very low power display (that is basically always on) is alsoacceptable for many usage scenarios, and may be faster than a bi-stabledisplay, (to provide a reasonable frame rate for dynamic graphics),which may be desirable for certain applications.

As also shown in FIG. 1 via block 104 are zero or more other outputmechanisms, that is, other forms of output that can be sensed by a humanmay be used instead of or in addition to display output, e.g., othervisible output via LEDs or the like, audio output and/or vibration(haptic) output.

The control logic 106 may be maintained in a memory 108 and executed bya processor 110 (as represented in FIG. 1), and/or may be incorporatedinto (in whole or part) a hardware chip or the like. As described belowwith reference to FIG. 2, some or most of the control logic 106 may beon a remote device such as a companion smartphone or laptop that is incommunication with the device 102, e.g., via a network communicationcomponent 112 (software and/or hardware).

The network communication component 112 may use any wired or wirelesstechnology, e.g., Bluetooth®, Wi-Fi, cellular and/or the like. Thenetwork communication network communication component 112 may couple thedevice 102 to a data source, such as the internet, an intranet and soon; the coupling may be through an intermediary such as a companiondevice. For example, the network communication component may use asmartphone as an access point.

As described herein, the control logic 106 receives user interactiondata from an interaction detection component 114 or the like. This mayinclude manual input 116 in the form of button presses or the like, andmanual positioning relative to the wearer including movement of thedevice away from and back toward the user, and vertical and horizontalmovement. Other sensing may provide tilt, yaw, rotation, orientationdata and so forth. Note that the device 102 may be a multiple (e.g.,two) piece device, such as one piece that provides the display, andanother piece that senses the display position; FIG. 4 shows such atwo-piece device comprising a display part coupled to a belt-clip partthat senses the relative position of the display part.

User input may comprise any input data received, including via a NaturalUser Interface (NUI), where NUI generally refers to any interfacetechnology that enables a user to interact with a device in a “natural”manner, such as free from artificial constraints imposed by inputdevices such as mice, keyboards, remote controls, and the like. Examplesof NUI include those based upon speech recognition, touch and stylusrecognition, gesture recognition both on screen and adjacent to thescreen, air gestures, head and eye tracking, voice and speech, vision,touch, gestures including motion gestures, and machine intelligence.Motion gesture detection may use accelerometers/gyroscopes, facialrecognition, 3D displays, head, eye, and gaze tracking, immersiveaugmented reality and virtual reality systems, which provide a morenatural interface, as well as technologies for sensing brain activityusing electric field sensing electrodes (EEG and related methods).

Using such input, the device can be used as a personalized generalpurpose input device. For example, the device may display a QWERTY orother style keyboard that makes use of a language model trained on theuser; trained speech recognition likewise may be implemented.

The device may serve as a remote input device that acts as a controllerfor another device, e.g., one or more personal entertainment devices, aprojector, one or more other computers (e.g., as a mouse or pointer),and so forth. This (at least in part) may be via touch or buttons, butmay also be done via positioning, motion gestures or speech. Forexample, moving the device horizontally may change a television channel,moving the device vertically may change the volume. As another example,a computer monitor that is not touch-sensitive (or proximity-sensitive)may be controlled via motion gesture interaction (e.g., directed towardsthe monitor) so as to simulate a touch screen. A desktop GUI ‘clipboard’model may be supported, where clipped content is associated withspecific wearable interactive device locations and may be retrieved byholding the wearable interactive device in a relevant position beforeselecting ‘paste’ on the desktop.

Position sensing also may be used as an input to a differentdevice/application, e.g., to provide for eyes-free navigation ofinformation, which is then spoken out to the wearer. Turn-by-turndirections to a user that is known to be driving may be output, forexample, directly or via communication that is spoken through the car'sspeakers. Other audio data such as music may be maintained on and outputfrom the device as well.

The control logic 106 may include a rules engine or other model (e.g.,machine learned) that decides how to render content based upon userinteraction. Context may be computed and used as input, and userpreferences, history, and so forth may be used as input data in thedecision making. The displayed content may be user configurable to anextent; for example, when the device is held in a certain position, oneuser may want email data, while another user may want to see calendardata at that same position; each user may specify such preferences.Context may also play a role in what is output, e.g., at the sameposition on a weekend, rendered calendar content may show a full day (bydefault), whereas during a weekday, rendered calendar content may showworking hours (by default). Location also may be used as context, e.g.,if a user has a meeting in the building and he or she enters it thefirst time (based on history), the user may be shown the map to themeeting room; if the user does not have a meeting or has been to thebuilding before, then he or she can be shown calendar data. Scrollingwithin an application/rendered such as to see more hours of calendardata or to pan the map image may be accomplished by horizontal and/orvertical movement of the interactive device, for example.

The interaction detection component 114 may provide raw data to thecontrol logic 106 for processing, and/or data that is processed in someway, such as an identifier of which button was pressed, coordinates ofthe display (e.g., polar or Cartesian) relative to the wearer, e.g.,relative to a fixed point associated with the wearer such as thewearer's belt. Thus, the interaction detection component 114 maycomprise a sensing interface, and may be one that performs somepre-processing.

Also shown in FIG. 1 is example data (blocks 118-124) that are availableto the device 102 and accessible in some form by the control logic 106,exemplified as security data 118, calendar data 119, email data 120,social networking data 121, and dynamic data 122 (e.g., weather,traffic, a downloaded map). State data 123, such as time of day, GPSlocation data, and so forth also may be accessible in some form to thecontrol logic 106. Still further, other data 124 such as user preferencedata, user history data and so forth may be known; block 124 alsorepresents any other type of data that may be desirable to have and/ordisplay, e.g., instant messaging data. The device 102 also mayincorporate cellular phone and/or data capabilities.

FIG. 2 represents another example implementation, in which many of thecomponents of FIG. 1 are incorporated into a remote device 205 that iscoupled to a wearable device 203. In general, in the example of FIG. 2,the wearable device 203 is basically a thin client that receives (atleast some) manual input 116 at an interaction detection component 114,(which may be implemented in a separate part of a two-piece device as inFIG. 4, for example). However, instead of processing the sensed input,the device 103 transmits corresponding input data via an input/output(I/O) component 211 and the network communication component 112 to theremote device 105. The remote device 205 processes the input data,determines what to output, and returns data corresponding to that output(which may be full screen and/or delta data, in any suitable format) tothe device 203 for rendering. Some information may be cached locally onthe display part of the device 203 instead of always streaming data inreal time from the companion remote device 205.

Note that the remote device 205 also may detect some additional input117 via one or more sensors detected by sensor detection 250B (asdescribed below with respect to FIG. 3B). For example, instead of thedevice 203 having a GPS receiver, the companion device 205 may have aGPS receiver that provides general location data.

As can be readily appreciated, FIGS. 1 and 2 are only examples, andother models are feasible. For example, a hybrid model may be providedin which the wearable device does most of the data processing, but doesnot have an internet connection, or does not at times, such as becauseit does not have a cellular connection to the internet. In such a model,(most of) the data to be processed for output is downloaded by theremote device (e.g., a smartphone) and uploaded to the wearable deviceas needed, e.g., on demand based upon detected input with the wearabledevice, or in anticipation of need. Moreover, the wearable interactivedevice may be implemented via a “badge” application or the like runningon a smartphone coupled to a positioning sensor set; the applicationinputs the sensed position data as (at least some) interactive data, anduses the interactive data to determine the output. In this way, asmartphone with an appropriate application may act as an interactivebadge, with interaction detected via a positioning sensor set.

FIGS. 3A and 3B represent example ways in which user positioning andother input data may be received. FIG. 3A may correspond to a wearabledevice such as that represented in FIG. 4, in which the wearable devicecomprises a badge/display component 442 coupled to a belt clip component444 that is configured to be fastened to the wearer's belt. One suchbelt-worn string and sensor mechanism contains a processor with adigital-to-analog converter, a Bluetooth® module and a battery. Insteadof a belt clip component, a lanyard component may provide a similarattachment mechanism for a wearable badge component.

In one example embodiment, a retractable string mechanism allows thewearer to move the device relative to the belt clip component 444, withthe movement sensed as interaction data via a sensor set 446. In thisway, rather than showing a static image (e.g. the wearer's photo), thisinteractive version of the ID badge can be dynamically updated based onthe wearer's interaction with the device, (and possibly depending on thewearer's context, as described below). Note that the string may compriseconductive cabling or the like that carries signals and/or power.Further note that the string retraction mechanism may reside on thedisplay part of the component.

In the example of FIGS. 3A and 4, a sensor set 446 associated with theretractable string mechanism (that is used to attach the badge to thewearer's belt) can detect the distance from the badge component 442 tothe belt clip component 444, and also the relative angle between thebadge component 442 and the belt clip component 444. This providesreal-time coordinate (e.g., θ, φ and Z, or X, Y and Z) tracking of thedisplay part. From this positioning data, the position (distance andangle in this example) of the badge component 442 relative to the wearercan be determined.

In one example embodiment, interaction with the badge 442 in theZ-direction may be sensed using a potentiometer 330 as shown in FIG. 3A(e.g., a continuously-rotating potentiometer), which senses via coilrotations how far the coiled retractable string is extended. Forexample, pulling out the entire length of a (e.g., sixty cm) stringresults in eight complete rotations, giving a sensed resolution ofaround 0.3 mm. In practice, 1.0 mm resolution in distance sensing isreasonably achieved even without compensating for the non-linearity thatexists from the diameter of the coiled string decreasing as it is pulledout, sensor noise, and/or variations that result by the way in which thestring actually retracts.

Angular sensing may be achieved by threading the string through thecenter of a small analog joystick 332 (FIG. 3A) and sensing wiperpositions as voltages. An eight bit analog-to-digital conversion process(e.g., the clip processor may contain or be coupled to ananalog-to-digital converter) may be used to sample the two wiperpositions, providing approximately one degree resolution across a totalof fifty degrees, for example.

Button and/or touch sensing (block 334 in FIG. 3A) also may provideinput; FIG. 4 shows buttons B1-B15, however it is understood that anypractical number may be present in a given implementation as desired.Indeed, to facilitate one-handed operation, a “squeeze” (pressure)sensor set or the like may be more desirable than a button or multiplebuttons. Further, if multiple buttons are used, some or all of thebuttons may have the same meaning; e.g., only two states may exist,pressed or not pressed, whereby pressing any button or combination ofbuttons causes the pressed state, similar to a squeezed or not squeezedstate. Thus, blocks 334 and 345 represent any other kind of manual inputthat may be detected, including touch proximity anywhere on the deviceincluding the screen, speech, button press, squeeze and so on.

FIG. 3B shows other sensors 340-345 that may be incorporated into awearable device to alternatively sense interaction and/or further extendinteraction, (e.g., in addition to or instead of one or more of thesensors of FIG. 3A). Note that one or more of the sensors of FIG. 3B maybe on the wearable device, shown via sensor detection component 150 inFIGS. 1 and 250A in FIG. 2, however one or more also may be present on acompanion device such as a smartphone. Thus, the exemplified sensordetection component 350 in FIG. 3B may be on the wearable device, partlyon a companion device (as in FIG. 2, where the component 250B alsosenses some input), and/or appropriately split between both.

FIG. 3B shows a magnetometer 340, accelerometer 341, gyroscope 342,proximity sensor 343, and one or more other sensors 344 (such as analtimeter, inclinometer, potentiometer, joystick, and/or a directionalcontrol pad (D-pad) and the like). Button and/or touch sensing is alsoshown via block 345. Not all of these sensors may be present in a givenembodiment, but if present, may be used to determine relativepositioning of a wearable device. For example, distance, direction, tiltand orientation may be sensed by a combination of data from themagnetometer 340, accelerometer 341 and gyroscope 342; distance may bedetected relative to a locally-generated electromagnetic field for therelative tracking, for example. In a string embodiment as shown in FIG.4, orientation relative to the string (not just coordinates relative tothe clip) may be sensed and used to as interaction data. Context, suchas whether a person is driving, walking or is stationary may be deducedfrom such sensor data, possibly in combination with one or more othersensors, such as a GPS sensor.

Distance sensing may be achieved in other ways, e.g., a string thatalternates between black and white lengths (or other colors) may triggera sensor that counts color changes. This may be more granular thandistance provided by a potentiometer, however for certain applicationsthis may be sufficient. For example, consider an interactive badge thathas only three distinguishable distance positions, nearby (e.g.,retracted), medium distance and far (fully or near fully extended)distance. Combined with angular sensing these three distance settingsmay be sufficient to provide a useful amount of at-a-glance data.Further, with (or even without) angular data, the amount of dataprovided with granular distance differentiations may be significant. Forexample, a user may shake the device at the same approximate distance,with the shaking sensed to alternate between displayed applicationcontent, such as calendar data, email data, traffic data and so on, withscrolling, panning, zoom and so on available as appropriate for thecurrently selected application if angular sensing is present.

Angular sensing also may be based on the joystick and/or other sensors.This may include the angle of the badge relative to theenvironment/gravity (e.g., sensed with an accelerometer) and/or theangle of the device relative to a worn part, as described above.

The displayed content thus may change based upon the interactivepositioning of the device to the wearer, rather for example than viainteractive unlocking, followed by selection of an application from ahome page or the like, and possibly further interaction. For example,with the wearable interactive device, in a quick glance scenario, a usermay tilt the device without moving it much away from himself or herself,whereby content for that position is rendered to provide quickglanceable information (e.g., calendar data during working hours,traffic information just before or after working hours). However, if theuser pulls the device away from himself or herself, different contentmay be displayed, such as an interactive map. The use of the varioussensors facilitates an automatic transition between a passive(glanceable) display and active display modes, e.g., based upon theposition of display relative to the wearer.

Further, information that is seen by others may differ from thatdisplayed for personal consumption; using various known displaytechnologies, for example, the wearer viewing the device at one angle,e.g., an oblique angle when retracted to the belt, may see personalcontent, while others seeing the device at a more direct angle insteadsee content for public consumption, such as identity badge output.

For a given application, a user may move a device right, left up or downto scroll as if the device was a viewport to a larger piece ofcontent/image, e.g., a virtual canvas. A user may zoom in and out, e.g.,by moving the device in the Z-direction. With appropriate sensors,gesture input (on-screen or motion gestures) also may be used. Forexample, a shaking motion and/or horizontal back and forth and/orvertical up and down gesture with the device (e.g., that is too fast tobe practical for scrolling, panning or zooming) may be sensed to changethe content or application instead of scrolling, panning or zooming.

Indeed, the examples of FIG. 3A and/or FIG. 3B show a mechanism thatsupports various forms of interaction, including the ability to pan thedisplay around a larger virtual image and/or to navigate betweendifferent types of digital information. For example, in another scenariogenerally represented in FIGS. 5A and 5B, extending the wearable device442 at different angles facilitates interaction with an interactive map.

In this application, when the badge is pulled appropriately away fromthe belt, the system activates a building floor plan display applicationproviding a virtual map of the entire floor of a building laid out infront of the user at approximately waist height. The user sees part ofthe map on the display, and may reveal any part of the map by moving thedisplay to the associated part of the virtual space and pressing abutton on the display bezel. If the button is held down, it is possibleto pan the display and the associated view, and it is also possible tomove the display up and down to move to a different floor in thebuilding. If part of the map needs to be consulted for longer, releasingthe button may be used to freeze the display. When the wearer wants tofinish the interaction, releasing the display allows the device toretract back to the belt clip, whereupon an identity badge image isdisplayed once again and the badge returns to a very low power mode.

Note that the gain may be set to make usage more straightforward, andmay depend on the zoom level. For example, a 1.0 cm movement of thedisplay resulting in the image scrolling 1.0 cm to the left, may beuseful sometimes, but is not ideal in all situations. For example, whena user is seated at a desk or table, the user may want a high gain so asto navigate a relatively large virtual canvas without moving the displayover large distances. The natural increase in resolution of sensedlateral position also may be leveraged, e.g., when the display is closerto the belt clip, finer interaction movements may be provided so thatthe device remains easy to use when the user is seated or in a situationwhere large movements are not be appropriate.

Further, a number of additional interaction techniques may be provided,such as a traditional “clutching” model using one of the bezel buttons.Clutching occurs when the device is fully extended and thus cannot bemoved far enough in one direction such as more left to see or scroll toa desired part of an image or other content. By holding down a button,for example, or squeezing, the user may move the device back towards thecenter (towards the right in this example) without panning or scrolling;when the user releases the non-panning state, e.g., lets up the buttonor stops squeezing, the panning functionality returns. Zoom may likewisebe temporarily and controllable frozen in such a manner. Note that othertechniques may be used instead of button interaction or the like; forexample, a flick motion gesture may be detected that impacts the panning(or zooming) state, the user may turn the device roughly ninety (orone-hundred-and-eighty) degrees to enter a non-panning and/ornon-zooming state until turned back to restore, and so on. For example,a flick right may pan more than a gentle motion to the right.

Bezel buttons also may be used as hot-key shortcuts that reset thevirtual canvas to a particular position (e.g., depending on the hotkeypressed). Any of the above buttons and other techniques may becustomized by the user.

As can be readily appreciated, other applications may provide otheruseful output. For example, by adding a camera, the device may be usedas a virtual reality display, e.g., to display overlaid text thatdescribes what is in the camera's view. A virtual information displaymay provide for accessing calendar data, accessing contacts, email,notes browser, maps and so forth, including via automatically minedcontextual information such as the next appointment, traffic conditions,peoples' names, the next bus time and so forth.

Thus, described herein are some of the many possible interactiontechniques available via the device positioning and other interaction,including panning around a larger piece of content, with clutchingcapabilities if necessary; zoom and image orientation by lifting up anddown and/or extension/retraction and so forth. The zoom may be semantic,e.g., classic ‘zoom’ interaction where the image is magnified as thedisplay is moved towards the eye may be augmented by adding more detailsto the image at certain magnification thresholds. Other types of outputinformation may be layered, such as in FIGS. 5A and 5B.

As can be seen in FIGS. 5A and 5B, the device imposes no location systeminfrastructure requirements, and instead naturally creates aninteraction space that is ‘pinned’ to the wearer; as the wearer movesaround the interaction space follows the wearer. As long as the beltclip is worn in a consistent position, the user may develop a clearspatial model of interaction zones and layers, as well as other content.For example, a user may learn to extend the device at waist height toshow calendar appointments, at chest height to show emails or adjacentto the hip (with little extension) for a traffic update.

The interactive device also provides for additional functionality. Forexample, consider social settings, in which part or all of the displayimplements a color scheme that can distribute information to others,such as to help in meeting others with similar interests, show likes anddislikes, and so forth. The device also may be used to broadcastinformation to wearer, e.g., when attending a large meeting, an employeein finance sees a red display and knows to sit in the red section, sincethat is reserved for the finance group; other groups have other colorsand seat locations.

Turning to security aspects, a typical conventional ID badge provides animage/picture of the person wearing it, and many times the badge isreadable to allow access to specified locations, such as building and/orrooms. The interactive badge may likewise have such features, including,if desired, a regular ID image/picture on the back for front (orvice-versa) so that the interactive badge still works as conventionalbadge without power or if something fails, e.g., the screen getscracked, the display freezes on a non-security image, and so on.However, because of the interactive nature of the interactivebadge/device, additional security features may be provided.

For example, based upon context, a badge may be used as a key to a roomthat otherwise denies the badge holder access. The key (entrycredentials) may comprise a digital signal, barcode, QR code and soforth sensed by a lock at the door. A virtual keypad or the like may beprovided on the display, with the code (which may be a temporary code)needing to be entered to activate entry credentials. The context mayinclude the date and time of day, expected attendees to an event,one-time visitor permission granted by an overseer, and so forth. Notethat if a companion device is used, both the main device as well as thecompanion device may need to be present, to make access even morechallenging to an inappropriate user in the event of theft, regardlessof whether an entered code is also used.

The badge also may be used to unlock a user's devices. For example,instead of having to log into/unlock an office computer, tablet,smartphone and anything else needing credentials such as protectedfiles, the presence of the interactive badge may be sensed and used forthis purpose. Unlike a smartcard chip, the communication may beautomatic and regular, e.g., so that the devices automatically lock/logout when the interactive badge is not in communication. Passwords or thelike may be exchanged among the devices so that changes need not be madeat each device. Interaction with the badge, which may be based uponmanual positioning as described herein, may trigger theunlocking/locking actions.

Further, because the device is intended to provide rapid, glanceableinformation, it may be generally undesirable to lock the interactivebadge/device, at least for most applications (there may be predeterminedexceptions such as highly secretive data that always needs additionalcredentials to access). One way to provide such convenience whilemaintaining security is to have the device remain unlocked while thedevice is clipped to the user's belt. For example, the user may need tounlock the device at the beginning of the day when first attaching theclip, but thereafter need not unlock the device for use as long as thedevice remains clipped (or at least for some number of hours), and thushave convenient access to desired information. A “clipped” state sensor448 (FIG. 4) may provide the state information to the device 442, suchas via regular heartbeats that ensure that any unclipped state isdetectable. A lanyard may similarly have a magnetic coupling or the likethat detects whether the badge is still coupled thereto.

Biometric sensors as well as other sensors and data also may be used inconjunction with the interactive device for security (and other)purposes. These may be used to sense atypical situations and “raiseflags” (and likely re-lock the device) if an exception is triggered,such as when the device remains clipped to the belt but the user haschanged clothes, leaving the device in an unlocked state. For example, aperson's gait (or other movement habits) may be sensed and thus islearnable, whereby detection of a different gait may indicate thatanother person is walking off with the device. The history of locationdata versus the current location may be compared, e.g., if the device ismoved to an unfamiliar location, the device may automatically lock andnecessitate a manual or biometric (e.g., fingerprint or retina/irisscan) unlocking procedure.

Other features of conventional badges may be enhanced by the interactivenature of the interactive device. For example, many enterprises allow auser to purchase food at the enterprise cafeteria via an identity badge.The interactive badge can be used to do the same, but also to show theuser the remaining balance if paid in advance or current balance owed.Indeed, the interactive device may be used as a credit card or debitcard, which allows viewing balances and allowspayments/deposits/withdrawals to be made, and so forth.

Turning to power-related aspects, the device may be internally and/orexternally powered by a battery and/or capacitor. The belt clip orlanyard also may contain a power source 450 such as a battery or otherpower source; although shown in the belt clip component 444, it isunderstood that only one of the two parts may need a power source, e.g.,the other may be powered or charged via the string (e.g., with atwo-conductor cable therein). Charging may be direct or inductive, andindeed, pulling and/or retracting the string may itself generate powerthat charges the power source or sources. Data transfer (e.g.,synchronization) may occur at any time, including when the string isextended. Data transfer may be selective, e.g., transfer email andtraffic data because the string is extended such that one of the two (orboth) are needed at that extension distance. For non-stringimplementations, contact-based charging may occur when coupled to thebelt or lanyard in some other manner, e.g., magnetically, or inductivelywhen sufficiently close to a charging mechanism.

FIG. 6 summarizes some of the various aspects described herein in theform of an example flow diagram. Step 602, which for example may beginanytime the user has some actual, detectable interaction with thedevice, represents determining the current context from various inputdata, such as state data and the like. Step 604 represents sensing andobtaining position data, along with any other input data. Initially,this may include some delay during the manual movement/positioning toallow the user to move the device to a desired position and hold itthere.

Step 606 represents determining what to output based upon the positiondata, any other input data and the current context. As described above,the output may be visible, audible and/or tactile, and, for example, thecontext may determine whether the output is visible, audible and/ortactile, as well as the content that is output. Step 608 representsrendering the output.

The process repeats until done, allowing for further interaction viaposition changes, context changes, and any other input changes, e.g.,button presses, gestures and so forth. Step 610 represents determiningwhen the user is done, e.g., the user releases the device and itretracts to the belt or lanyard, or the position is otherwise isdetected such that the device is known to be in its “fixed” defaultoutput location relative to the user. When done, step 612 renders thefixed position output, e.g., showing an identification badge (althoughas described above, the default fixed output position may depend on theviewing angle).

As can be seen, there is described a type of wearable computing device.If the device is used as an interactive identity badge, the devicereplaces a familiar mechanism with an interactive electronic device,whereby the burden of wearing the device is very low. Interaction may bebased upon positioning of the wearable device, e.g., by sensing movementof a retractable string that attaches an interactive identity badge tothe wearer's belt or lanyard. This form-factor makes it possible tointeract using a single hand, providing lightweight and immediate accessto a variety of information, including when it is not convenient to pickup, unlock and interact directly with another computing device such as asmartphone. By being readily on-hand and available, the device mayprovide a quicker and easier way to access information than establishedmobile devices and can fulfill another role, e.g., as an identity badge.

The device supports consumption of glanceable information withsingle-handed operation. For example, the wearer can quickly manipulatethe display in 3D space to navigate information intuitively, even whenonly a couple of seconds of interaction are desirable. Scenarios includeaccess to email, social networking, calendar appointments and onlineservices such as search, mapping, weather forecasting and trafficupdates. Furthermore, this approach may provide an alternative to activenotifications in some scenarios by displaying information in a morepassive, glanceable manner.

In one retractable string implementation, simply ‘letting go’ of thedevice ends the interaction. Unlike touch-based interaction, theretractable string mechanism avoids occlusion of the display withoutunduly restricting the range of input.

Example Operating Environment

As mentioned, advantageously, the techniques described herein can beapplied to any device. It can be understood, therefore, that handheld,portable and other computing devices and computing objects of all kindsincluding multi-component configurations (that include a displaycomponent for example) are contemplated for use in connection with thevarious embodiments. Accordingly, the below general purpose remotecomputer described below in FIG. 7 is but one example of a computingdevice.

Embodiments can partly be implemented via an operating system, for useby a developer of services for a device or object, and/or includedwithin application software that operates to perform one or morefunctional aspects of the various embodiments described herein. Softwaremay be described in the general context of computer executableinstructions, such as program modules, being executed by one or morecomputers, such as client workstations, servers or other devices. Thoseskilled in the art will appreciate that computer systems have a varietyof configurations and protocols that can be used to communicate data,and thus, no particular configuration or protocol is consideredlimiting.

FIG. 7 thus illustrates an example of a suitable computing systemenvironment 700 in which one or aspects of the embodiments describedherein can be implemented, although as made clear above, the computingsystem environment 700 is only one example of a suitable computingenvironment and is not intended to suggest any limitation as to scope ofuse or functionality. In addition, the computing system environment 700is not intended to be interpreted as having any dependency relating toany one or combination of components illustrated in the examplecomputing system environment 700.

With reference to FIG. 7, an example remote device for implementing oneor more embodiments includes a general purpose computing device in theform of a computer 710. Components of computer 710 may include, but arenot limited to, a processing unit 720, a system memory 730, and a systembus 722 that couples various system components including the systemmemory to the processing unit 720.

Computer 710 typically includes a variety of computer-readable media andcan be any available media that can be accessed by computer 710. Thesystem memory 730 may include computer storage media in the form ofvolatile and/or nonvolatile memory such as read only memory (ROM) and/orrandom access memory (RAM). By way of example, and not limitation,system memory 730 may also include an operating system, applicationprograms, other program modules, and program data.

A user can enter commands and information into the computer 710 throughinput devices 740. A monitor or other type of display device is alsoconnected to the system bus 722 via an interface, such as outputinterface 750. In addition to a monitor, computers can also includeother peripheral output devices such as speakers and a printer, whichmay be connected through output interface 750.

The computer 710 may operate in a networked or distributed environmentusing logical connections to one or more other remote computers, such asremote computer 770. The remote computer 770 may be a personal computer,a server, a router, a network PC, a peer device or other common networknode, or any other remote media consumption or transmission device, andmay include any or all of the elements described above relative to thecomputer 710. The logical connections depicted in FIG. 7 include anetwork 772, such local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN),but may also include other networks/buses. Such networking environmentsare commonplace in homes, offices, enterprise-wide computer networks,intranets and the Internet.

As mentioned above, while example embodiments have been described inconnection with various computing devices and network architectures, theunderlying concepts may be applied to any network system and anycomputing device or system in which it is desirable to improveefficiency of resource usage.

Also, there are multiple ways to implement the same or similarfunctionality, e.g., an appropriate API, tool kit, driver code,operating system, control, standalone or downloadable software object,etc. which enables applications and services to take advantage of thetechniques provided herein. Thus, embodiments herein are contemplatedfrom the standpoint of an API (or other software object), as well asfrom a software or hardware object that implements one or moreembodiments as described herein. Thus, various embodiments describedherein can have aspects that are wholly in hardware, partly in hardwareand partly in software, as well as in software.

The word “example” is used herein to mean serving as an example,instance, or illustration. For the avoidance of doubt, the subjectmatter disclosed herein is not limited by such examples. In addition,any aspect or design described herein as “example” is not necessarily tobe construed as preferred or advantageous over other aspects or designs,nor is it meant to preclude equivalent example structures and techniquesknown to those of ordinary skill in the art. Furthermore, to the extentthat the terms “includes,” “has,” “contains,” and other similar wordsare used, for the avoidance of doubt, such terms are intended to beinclusive in a manner similar to the term “comprising” as an opentransition word without precluding any additional or other elements whenemployed in a claim.

As mentioned, the various techniques described herein may be implementedin connection with hardware or software or, where appropriate, with acombination of both. As used herein, the terms “component,” “module,”“system” and the like are likewise intended to refer to acomputer-related entity, either hardware, a combination of hardware andsoftware, software, or software in execution. For example, a componentmay be, but is not limited to being, a process running on a processor, aprocessor, an object, an executable, a thread of execution, a program,and/or a computer. By way of illustration, both an application runningon computer and the computer can be a component. One or more componentsmay reside within a process and/or thread of execution and a componentmay be localized on one computer and/or distributed between two or morecomputers.

The aforementioned systems have been described with respect tointeraction between several components. It can be appreciated that suchsystems and components can include those components or specifiedsub-components, some of the specified components or sub-components,and/or additional components, and according to various permutations andcombinations of the foregoing. Sub-components can also be implemented ascomponents communicatively coupled to other components rather thanincluded within parent components (hierarchical). Additionally, it canbe noted that one or more components may be combined into a singlecomponent providing aggregate functionality or divided into severalseparate sub-components, and that any one or more middle layers, such asa management layer, may be provided to communicatively couple to suchsub-components in order to provide integrated functionality. Anycomponents described herein may also interact with one or more othercomponents not specifically described herein but generally known bythose of skill in the art.

In view of the example systems described herein, methodologies that maybe implemented in accordance with the described subject matter can alsobe appreciated with reference to the flowcharts of the various figures.While for purposes of simplicity of explanation, the methodologies areshown and described as a series of blocks, it is to be understood andappreciated that the various embodiments are not limited by the order ofthe blocks, as some blocks may occur in different orders and/orconcurrently with other blocks from what is depicted and describedherein. Where non-sequential, or branched, flow is illustrated viaflowchart, it can be appreciated that various other branches, flowpaths, and orders of the blocks, may be implemented which achieve thesame or a similar result. Moreover, some illustrated blocks are optionalin implementing the methodologies described hereinafter.

CONCLUSION

While the invention is susceptible to various modifications andalternative constructions, certain illustrated embodiments thereof areshown in the drawings and have been described above in detail. It shouldbe understood, however, that there is no intention to limit theinvention to the specific forms disclosed, but on the contrary, theintention is to cover all modifications, alternative constructions, andequivalents falling within the spirit and scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method performed at least in part on at leastone processor, comprising, sensing a position of a wearable interactivedevice relative to a wearer of the device to provide position data, inwhich manipulation of the device that causes the device to move to theposition comprises at least part of an interaction with the device, andrendering output via the wearable interactive device based upon theinteraction with the device, including determining, based at least inpart upon the position data, the output that is rendered via thewearable interactive device.
 2. The method of claim 1 furthercomprising, using context data to determine the output that is renderedvia the wearable interactive device.
 3. The method of claim 1 whereinsensing the position of the wearable interactive device to provide theposition data comprises sensing coordinates corresponding to a distance,a vertical angle and a horizontal angle.
 4. The method of claim 1further comprising, obtaining data corresponding to at least part of theoutput to be rendered from a remote device, or obtaining contentcorresponding to the output to be rendered from a remote content source.5. The method of claim 1 wherein the output comprises a displayedrepresentation of a part of content, and wherein rendering the output onthe wearable interactive device based upon the interaction with thedevice, comprises panning, scrolling, or zooming, or any combination ofpanning, scrolling or zooming to display a different representation ofthe content as the position data is changed.
 6. The method of claim 1wherein rendering the output via the wearable interactive device basedupon the interaction with the device comprises rendering a badge imagewhen there is no manual interaction or substantially no manualinteraction with the device.
 7. The method of claim 1 furthercomprising, inputting touch-based data, proximity-based data,gesture-based data, button-based data, pressure-based data,magnetometer-based data, accelerometer-based data, or gyroscope-baseddata, or any combination of touch-based data, proximity-based data,gesture-based data, button-based data, pressure-based data,magnetometer-based data, accelerometer-based data, or gyroscope-baseddata.
 8. The method of claim 1 wherein rendering the output via thewearable interactive device based upon the interaction with the devicecomprises outputting control data for controlling a remote device orunlocking a remote device, or both controlling and unlocking a remotedevice.
 9. The method of claim 1 wherein rendering the output via thewearable interactive device comprises augmenting an image with virtualdata.
 10. In a computing environment, a system comprising, a wearableinteractive device, the wearable interactive device including an outputmechanism configured to render output content, in which the outputcontent is rendered based at least in part upon interaction with thewearable interactive device that positions the wearable interactivedevice at a position relative to a wearer of the interactive wearabledevice.
 11. The system of claim 10 wherein the output mechanismcomprises an always on display or a substantially always on display. 12.The system of claim 10 wherein at least part of the wearable interactivedevice comprises an identity badge.
 13. The system of claim 10 furthercomprising a sensor set including at least one sensor that senses theposition.
 14. The system of claim 13 wherein the sensor set comprises asensor that provides a distance of the wearable interactive devicerelative to the wearer based upon movement of a retractable stringcoupled to the wearable interactive device.
 15. The system of claim 13wherein the sensor set comprises a distance sensor that provides adistance of the wearable interactive device relative to the wearer, andat least one sensor that provides at least one angle of the wearableinteractive device relative to the wearer.
 16. The system of claim 13wherein the wearable interactive device comprises a display part and abelt clip part or a lanyard part, and wherein at least part of thesensor set is incorporated into the belt clip part or the lanyard partof the wearable interactive device.
 17. The system of claim 16 whereinthe belt clip part or the lanyard part provides at least some power toanother part of the wearable interactive device, or wherein the beltclip part or the lanyard part receives at least some power from anotherpart of the wearable interactive device.
 18. The system of claim 10wherein at least part of the output content is provided by a companiondevice.
 19. The method of claim 10 further comprising, a sensorconfigured to detect whether the wearable interactive device iscurrently being worn.
 20. One or more computer-readable media havingcomputer-executable instructions, which when executed perform steps,comprising: obtaining context data; sensing position data of a wearableinteractive badge relative to a wearer, including sensing distance dataand angular data; determining content based upon the position data andthe context data; and rendering the content via the wearable interactivebadge.